Unable to Hide
by Violentdaybreak
Summary: A dark spirit is released into the Guardians' world and, little do they know, this spirit is the Jack Frost of a different dimension but they are not the sweet, child-loving spirit that they know and love. With the dark allure that this creature holds over our favourite Winter spirit, Jack's dark past will be dragged out for all to see but he very well might not survive the trauma.
1. The Winter Solstice

**Jack P.O.V. **

I shoved my hands into the snow, clenching a handful of the white substance into a ball as I hid behind a tree. My eyes caught onto two lone figures out through the trees, the two talking and giggling like little chipmunks. I smirked, darting through the trees like a winter breeze towards them.

"Sneak attack!" I laughed, throwing the snowballs I had collected right at their skulls. The Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny shrieked at the snow pelting them, their cries of surprise turning into laughter and calls for revenge as they ducked for cover. Almost instantly, I came under fire from the two of them, our laughter swelling and filling the air.

"Take this, Frostbite!" Bunny laughed, ducking out from cover and throwing a clump of snow straight into my skull. I feigned death, clutching at my chest and flopping onto my back. I made a few gagging sounds, groaning and rolling as if I were in absolute agony.

"Oh, the horror!" I gasped, stifling my laughter as Bunny and Tooth began to think that they had won. "I…I see… a white light! Oh! Bunny! Tooth! I'm dying!"

"Get up, ya bloody show pony," Bunny laughed, coming over to kick my side with his fluffy foot. I smirked and rolled over, taking a grip of his ankle in a way that had him sprawling on the snow beside me.

"You get up," I replied, nonchalantly getting to my feet and dusting myself down.

Almost a moment later, Bunnymund grabbed me in much the same way, the two of us beginning to wrestle for dominance. Tooth merely stood back and watched the whole thing unfold, laughing her head off. Bunny was just getting me into a choke hold when a figure emerged from the woods, a battle cry resounding through the trees as an army of yetis followed behind.

"Sneak attack!" North roared, knocking the three of us over with the force of his ammunition. Full out war ensued as each side tried to knock out the other. In reality though, it was easy to see who was going to win.

"No fair!" I yelled as a yeti tied Bunny, Tooth and I to a tree. "You can't bring the yetis to fight!"

"I can and just did," North chuckled, brushing a bit of snow from his jacket. "Nobody can defeat North!"

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for Christmas?" Bunny asked bitterly, raising a single furry brow.

"Christmas is in few days," North chuckled, waving a hand to brush the thoughts away. "Plenty of time!"

"Might I remind you guys that we're tied up?" I asked, kicking my legs to demonstrate the point. North merely laughed and gestured for the Yetis to untie us (only after we admitted defeat, mind you).

It had been a good year and a half since the defeat of Pitch Black and, as a result, since I had been accepted into the Guardians. Time, as always, moved at a rate that none of us could truly follow. And that was fine with us. We were immortal and it was nice to be able to see the world around us grow and evolve. I could blink and my first believer, Jamie, would have grown another couple centimetres, that toothy grin of his seeming to become more mature and intelligent.

It made me so happy.

One day he'd grow up. I'd be there for his wedding, even if he was no longer able to see me I would still be by his side. I'd watch over his children, have snowball fights with them and protect them from the shadows that would be waiting just beneath their bed.

As was my job as a Guardian.

And as his friend.

Today had been one of our increasingly rare days in which we all caught up. Despite its proximity to Christmas, North had called us all together, a sign of both his jolliness and self-assurance that his holiday would go as planned. We all had a good laugh about the snowball fight, a warmth spreading through my chest at having us all be so close again. I honestly had missed them all.

"So what did you need anyway, North?" Tooth asked, fluttering over to the larger man. She had her usual gentle smile on her face, placing a hand on his large arm in a fond gesture.

"Does one need reason to see old friends?" he joked, his face breaking out into a huge grin. "No, I kid, Manny wanted us to remain on look-out. Especially with tonight."

"What's tonight?" Bunnymund asked, his furry brows furrowing in confusion.

"The Winter Solstice," the Tooth Fairy explained, some huge connection being made in her head that made her gasp. "Is it really that time of year again? Goodness! There is so much preparation to do!"

"Preparation for what?" I asked curiously, watching as Bunnymund figured out what they were talking about as well.

"Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year, Frost," the Guardian of Hope explained, a concerned expression crossing his face. "That's usually when the Boogieman decides to make a move. He can stretch out the torment of his own nightmares and can severely frighten the children."

"Oh," I mumbled, a touch of anger stirring in the pit of my stomach. I gritted my teeth, cracking my knuckles as a smirk spread across my lips. "Well then, guess we'll be having a little fun tonight."

"Not so fast, Jack," Tooth said, touching my elbow as I made to start hunting down the King of Nightmares. "The Boogieman isn't the only thing you have to look out for. They say that a lot of bad spirits can get stirred up with the extra hours of night. You always have to be on the alert."

"I've been alive for 300 years and I haven't seen any bad spirits," I replied, tucking my hands into my pockets nonchalantly as I smiled endearingly back at Tooth. Despite her ominous sounding words, I couldn't really take it on board.

I mean, how bad could this night be if I'd never taken notice of it before?

"Jack, you really should be listening to-"

"Sorry, Bunny, but I got fields to freeze and snowball fights to start!" I laughed, floating just out of reach of any swipes he might have directed at me. "I promise I'll come back for your 'bad spirit patrol' before sundown. Okay?"

Before they could even say another word, I had flown upwards into the sky, feeling the air begin to cool dramatically. Frost began to reform on my toes and fingertips and I smiled, watching as the clouds darkened just at my touch.

"Let it snow," I whispered, my smirk softening into a peaceful smile as that familiar energy flooded my body and poured from my fingers. My staff began to glow blue and sparks shot from it, lighting up my eyes with bright fireworks.

It was moments like this that made me happy I had become a Guardian.

Because I could be someone who others could rely on and who could protect the children.


	2. Bloodshed

**Jack P.O.V.**

"This is boring," I groaned, lazily floating through the air around the other gathered Guardians.

"It's not supposed to be fun," Bunnymund called, frowning up at me. "It's supposed to be a serious guarding session."

"Serious isn't my thing," I sighed, leisurely frosting and defrosting my own hand a few times. "How about a snow ball fight instead? We can just say that we looked out for the oogily boogilies."

"You know we can hear you, Jack," Tooth giggled, turning up her kind face towards me. "But this is supposed to be serious. The Man in the Moon seems to be quite worried. We should pay attention, even if nothing happens."

"I know… but that doesn't mean I have to like or obey our orders," I laughed, smiling to let them know that I was only half joking. Bunnymund frowned back at me and pulled out his boomerang, twirling it around his fingers threateningly.

"Jack…" he said warningly.

"I kid, I kid!" I laughed, raising my hands out in front of my body before he decided to teach me a lesson. "Honest! It was just a joke!"

"Sure it was, Frostbite," the furred Guardian grumbled, slowly lowering his boomerang.

"Well, not really," I laughed, feeling a ball of ice form in my fist. I chucked it at his scowling face, watching as steam practically poured from his ears.

"Get back here, Snowflake!" Bunnymund roared, leaping to his feet and throwing his boomerang. I somehow managed to duck out of the way, a laugh tearing its way from my throat as I floated closer to the ground to give the rabbit a sporting chance. I ducked and weaved out of his grasping paws, the entire time offering taunts that were received in a way that would probably get me into trouble later on.

"Missed me! Missed me! Makes you wanna… oh, never mind," I laughed, watching as the rabbit's face flushed in rage and he tightened his hold on his boomerang.

"I'll rip you to pieces, you little shit!"

"And I thought we were friends," I laughed, just managing to dodge a clawed paw that I knew probably would have shed a lot of blood. "Hey! Tone it down a little! I still need my face!"

"Shoulda thought about that sooner!" he yelled, throwing his boomerang directly towards my nose. I had just enough time to widen my eyes in surprise before the curved wood hit me square in face, my nose making a sickening crunch as my head snapped back. I felt my body being thrown off balance, my body sailing through the air before having my spine slam back into the packed snow. The air was forced from my lungs, a horrible ache resounding through my body before I felt a freezing liquid running down my face.

"Ow," I groaned, slowly raising a hand to my nose. I glanced down at the liquid, seeing a frosty crimson leaking from it. "Why… did you do that, Bunny?" I moaned, forcing myself to sit down.

"Oh… sorry, Jack," the other Guardian quickly said, rushing to my side now that he had calmed down. "Took that a bit too far, mate. So sorry," he said, offering me a hand to help me to my feet. I gratefully accepted, my vision swimming before my eyes as I glanced over the others' faces.

"Nah, it was my fault," I groaned, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. I curiously glanced down at the red liquid lacing the skin of my hand, watching as it slowly began to freeze over. "I rarely ever see my own blood. Good job, Bunny."

"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"You okay, Jack?" Tooth asked worriedly, fluttering over to my side and giving me a once over.

"Terrific," I laughed, pushing away her frantic hands as I turned to grin at the others around us. "Man, your swing has improved, Bunny!"

I flexed my hand gently, watching as the frozen crimson broke apart and fell to the ground below me. The pieces bounced once before something very strange happened. The pieces melted as if they had been touched by an open flame, the tiny droplets bubbling and smoking as if they were part of some evil brew that would turn children into gingerbread. I stared at them, completely transfixed as they seeped into the ground and disappeared without a trace.

"You eat something strange, Jack?" North asked after a long, tense silence. Sandy made a picture of some chili above his head, holding his stomach to ask if I had been eating too much hot food.

"Not that I can remember…" I mumbled, frowning down at the liquid that was now continuously falling from my hand in liquid drops.

Hadn't it all been frozen a mere moment ago?

As the liquid continued to sizzle on the ground, my head snapped up, posing a silent question up at Manny who merely watched in solemn curiosity. I clenched my jaw and glanced back down, just in time to see the last bead of blood disappear into the concrete.

"I don't like the look of this…" Bunnymund murmured, his hands twitching as he took a firm hold of his boomerangs.

A sudden pulse seemed to go through our feet and I stumbled, watching as shapes flickered like flowing water beneath the surface of the concrete. My head snapped up as a loud sound crashed into me and all of the surrounding street lights shattered into a million crystalline pieces.

We were plunged into darkness.

The moon's light seemed to increase and I offered up a silent thanks to our friend watching over us. I forced my attention to return back to the moving shapes however, just in time to see them begin to take on the shape of a circle with picturesque symbols surrounding it.

"I _really _don't like the look of this!"

Another pulse travelled through our feet and the symbol seemed to rise out of the ground, eerie red mist twirling and dancing in the air. I backed off a step as a single tendril came closer, brushing past the drying slick of blood just above my lip. A flash ran through the strange tendril of crimson before it pulsed and writhed again, tangling around itself in an unbreakable knot towards the middle of the strange symbol. The light intensified, as did the smog-like thing that had seemed to form from thin air. The light kept growing and growing until I couldn't physically look at it anymore, shielding my eyes with a cry of pain. The last thing I saw before I had to block it out was a single shadow at the very centre of the light, no sound being able to be heard other than a single sigh, as if whatever was at its centre was having its very first breath.

And then the force of the light shattering sent me sprawling across the floor.

I don't think I had ever truly believed in evil spirits until that very moment, the sight of a smoking body residing in the middle of a scorched mark. As I pulled myself into an agonising sitting position, I couldn't help but stare at the creature that was doing the exact same thing, running a hand through its short midnight black hair that danced across its forehead. I noticed with a start that I was doing the exact same thing, the white locks in my hand being a stark contrast to its. I fully raised my head, the smoke pouring from its body thinning out slightly as it too did the same. Our eyes widened in perfect sync, my blue ones reflecting the startling yellow of the creature's. Two mouths opened in surprise, one of them being mine, before the two of us snapped them shut and covered them with two separate hands.

Hands that both had traces of dried blood on them.

"What the hell-"

"-Is going on?!" the other creature finished, its eyes widening as well at our joined speech.

Something strange kept tickling at the back of my skull as I watched the thing, its actions a perfect symmetry to my own. I shakily got to my feet, barely noticing the others staring as the two of us moved as one.

"Who are you?!" I shot in, speeding up my speech as the other one opened its mouth as well.

"Who are _you?!_" it shot back, its perfect yellow orbs narrowing distrustfully. A few differences in our facial expressions began to show themselves, the other creature appearing much more wary and a lot more on edge. Its eyes flickered over its surrounding, an oddly panicked look appearing in its golden eyes. "And where am I?!"

"We're in the middle of a street," I replied, never once taking my eyes off of the other spirit. "How did you get here?"

"I don't know!" the thing spat, a tendril of shadow beginning to quake from its clenched hand. "I saw a light and the next thing I know, I was here! Who the hell are you?!"

"My name is Jack Frost," I replied, frowning at the confusion of it.

The name seemed to spike something in the creature, making its whole body tense up at the mere sound of it. The foreboding yellow eyes snapped back onto me, the intensity of which held me so tightly that my breath was practically stolen.

"What… did you just say?" it asked, its eyes slowly narrowing as the shadows in its palm increased.

"I said that my name was Jack Frost," I repeated, watching as its fists tightened so much that the stark white of the knuckles made me think of the fallen snow that usually fell in waves during the winter. "Is… there something wrong?"

"Yes. There. _Is!_" the thing hissed out from between its teeth, a fire being lit in the depths of those eyes.

I felt some connection being made in my skull just as the shadows in its palm lengthened and grew, forming a black, curved stick much resembling the frozen one in my own hand. I felt my jaw drop, my eyes widening to the size of saucepans as it held the stick in front of my face.

"_I'm _Jack Frost!" the thing said viciously, barring its perfectly white teeth at me. "Former Guardian of Fun and Snow. What the hell are you doing walking around with my name?!"

"I…" I began to say, my throat clenching as I stared into the two angry pits of yellow. The figure, the hair, the eyes; besides the colour of them, everything was the same down to the finest details, including the splodges of dried blood adorning the top of our lips. "…I… could ask the same of you."


	3. Who We Could Have Been

**Jack P.O.V.**

The creature that looked just like me but wasn't suddenly lunged, its black stick slamming into mine at the last possible second before it could slam into my face. I started at the force of the blow, my feet sliding across the slick snow as I struggled to counteract it.

"Why the hell do you have my real name?!" the reflection yelled, its white knuckles standing out against the darkness of the staff. "Who the hell are you really?!"

"I'm Jack Frost!" I hissed out from between my teeth, shoving back with as much force as I could muster before leaping a step away. It chased after me a moment after it had recovered, the staff being swung at wide, dangerous lengths that clipped me more times than I was proud to admit. The other Guardians in the background began to recover from their shock, leaping to attention at the sight of the dark thing attacking me.

"_I'm _Jack Frost!"

"Well, so am I!"

I don't know what had forced those strange-sounding words from my lips, only knowing that there was some horrible truth behind them. The other Jack seemed to sense the truth of them as well, his steps faltering at the same time that mine did.

Fortunately for me, that small falter was all the other Guardians needed to strike.

A streak of dream sand slammed into the thing, curling around its dark body and illuminating the grey tinge to its skin. It struggled for an awfully long time before it slowly settled down, the gold of its eyes revealing the layers upon layers of bloody intent. The others rushed to my side, checking over me for any bumps or bruises that'd give them permission to harm the antagonistic Jack that had been immobilised. Sandy slowly went over and patted the dream sand silently, an oddly smug look appearing in his eyes as he regarded the dark boy.

"Well, there's a face I thought I'd never see again," the thing said, its body straightening in complete surprise. "The Sandman! Alive in all his glory! How on earth did you escape the grips of Pitch's shadows?"

"You know of that?" North asked cautiously, his curious nature over-ruling his suspicion of the other Jack Frost.

"Know of it? I was there!" the boy laughed, his head tipping back and his hair flicking away from his face. He smirked, a bloodthirsty glint appearing in those golden irises. "Watched him get devoured by nightmares! Didn't particularly like it at the time but it's a pretty fond memory now!"

I felt something sick stirring in my stomach at the look of pure death that appeared in its eyes, its hunger for Sandy's blood forcing me to push the smaller man behind me protectively despite his greater strength. The others didn't react too well to it either, all of them seeming to go a little more on edge.

The other Jack, however, seemed to be having a ball.

"Ah, and lookie here, the Tooth Fairy!" he laughed, smirking at her with a horrible look of malice that made my insides roll. "Thought you'd faded when you lost your last Believer? Great fun it was, especially listening to all of the Baby Fairies screeching at a crescendo that would have deafened any human. Still hear its melodies in my ear."

"But… I… never faded…" Tooth said, her voice going shaky as her face paled. I watched as her wing beats slowed down until she stood dazedly on the ground, her eyes never once leaving the other Jack's face.

"Well, I'm almost positive you did," the darker spirit said, tilting its head to the side in mock confusion. "I mean, I watched you die myself. Well… I suppose there is only one thing that this could mean…"

I watched North wet his lips, a troubled look flashing across his eyes. "And what's that?" he asked after a long pause, his eyes narrowing in warning as he raised a single sword.

"Well, I don't suppose this is _my _world," it murmured, its lips moving so subtly and creepily that it made my skin crawl. "Else the Sandman would be a pile of nightmares, Fairy here would be a forgotten memory and jolly old Saint Nick would have been consumed by fear itself."

"Oh, yeah? And what about me?" Bunnymund suddenly asked, his words being the strongest out of any of the Guardians. I watched his tough exterior, a feeling of reassurance washing over me at the familiar show of strength and fearlessness.

"Hm, you…" the other spirit said with disdain. It curled its lip up in disgust, looking on the verge of spitting on the furred Guardian. "I was actually just dealing with you. That whole light show threw the two of us off balance before I suddenly wound up in this messed-up place." He sent the rabbit a dirty look, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. "Nearly had you too. You've been getting on my nerves since the fall of Believers."

"Since the… what?" Bunnymund asked incredulously, his brows furrowing in both confusion and impatience. "Look, I have no idea who the hell you are or what you're doing here but-"

"I _told _you!" he sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes impatiently. "I am Jack Frost. Spirit of Fun and Snow! Well… at least I used to be."

"Used to be?" I asked, finally finding my voice. All eyes snapped back over to me, the person who by right should have been asking the questions.

"Ah, nearly forgot about you… _Jack,_" the dark lad snickered, obviously finding the name similarities comical. "From the look of that unsightly white hair and those blue eyes, I take it that you rejected the Boogieman's offer?"

"What… offer?" I asked warily, slowly inching my way forward.

"Don't remember? I'm sure the Pitch Black in this world would have offered it as well," the other boy replied, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully. A sudden smirk spread across his face, revealing white teeth with the slightest point in them. "Sure it went something like… '_We don't have to be alone, Jack! After all, what goes better than cold and dark?!_'"

He began cackling and my face went pale, knowing that no-one in the entire world knew about that conversation other than me and the Boogieman. The other Guardians turned towards me in surprise, awaiting either confirmation or rejection of the statement the other Jack had offered. I was so shocked by the familiar deal that I was unable to answer them, my eyes locked purely on the contrasting teenager before me.

"And… did you?" I asked, my mouth going dry. I slowly swallowed, trying to get myself back to normal. "Did you… agree to Pitch's deal? Did you turn your back on the Guardians?"

"Of course!" the guy laughed, a wild grin lighting up his face as he stared straight back at me. "I can't believe you didn't! Why the hell wouldn't you?!"

"Cause he has us!" Bunnymund snapped, puffing out his chest as he gestured towards the other Guardians. From the expressions on their faces, I could see that they were all recovering from their initial shock.

"Is that right?" the darker Jack asked, a slow, quiet smirk stretching across his face as he stared back at me. His yellow eyes slowly skimmed over the assembled group, finally coming to rest over my still frozen form. That horrid expression only seemed to grow, a special knowledge residing inside of him that he knew gave him the advantage. "You forget, I am Jack Frost. At one point in my life, I was the exact same Jack Frost that you were. I don't know what happened exactly but… I am you. At least… the you that could have been. Just as you are the Jack that I could have been."

"Do you know how crazy that sounds?" Bunnymund questioned, his eyes narrowed. I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes, seeing his hackles standing on end. It was quite obvious that he didn't like this other guy.

"I am aware of that, Kangaroo."

A jolt went through Bunny, the old mocking nickname having never been known to anyone outside of our group. That was all the confirmation that any of us needed.

He and I were the same.

Yet so different.

"Anyway, rest assured, you are the only Jack Frost here," he said, finally returning his eyes to me. He tossed his black hair away from his eyes with a simple flick of his head, the strands looking like the eerie, lightless night sky. "I changed along with my world the second I took Pitch's deal. I no longer go by 'Jack Frost'."

"Then… what do you go by now?" I asked cautiously, knowing that I wouldn't like the answer.

"Shadow," the boy chuckled, his eyes flashing as if it were the funniest thing in the world. "The thing that every person fears whether it be their own or that of someone else; everyone fears the shadows."

Bunny just sneered, curling his lip condescendingly as he regarded Shadow. "Fear you? You're nothing but a little boy that got into a bottle of black hair dye!"

Something about the statement set the boy off, making him raise his eyebrows in surprise as he quickly glanced over me. I began to feel uncomfortable under the scrutiny of his stare until a huge, disbelieving grin broke out on his face.

"No way!" Shadow laughed, his eyes flashing in amusement as he glanced over everyone's faces. "This can't be real!"

"What can't?" I asked cautiously, already dreading his answer.

"You!" he laughed, another laugh bubbling out from his throat. "Are you kidding me?! No wonder you guys are treating me so differently in this reality!" His eyes refixed on me, his laughs dying down as he stared so deeply into my eyes that I knew he could see my soul. "I guess we're not completely the same after all! You even had me confused, Jackie boy!"

"Confused about what? What on Earth are you talking about, boy?" North demanded impatiently, taking a step towards me.

"Your Jack Frost is a boy!" Shadow laughed, a pair of yellow eyes staring straight into mine. "But I'm not! I'm a girl, you idiots."

Wait…

_He_ was a _she?!_

**Daybreak: Hello everyone **** So… if you've come this far then that means you have decided to give this fanfic a shot! Hi **** So I always wanted to write a parallel Jack story and I started writing this about a year ago but finally decided to upload this on here ****Please review and fave if you like it! The more reviews I have, the faster I will upload. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Yin and Yang

**Daybreak: Hey everyone! So I got an awesome response so I decided to upload the next couple chapters **** please review and fave if you like it! Thanks guys!**

**Jack P.O.V.**

"So you've never had a sex change?"

"No."

"You're not a cross-dresser?"

"I could ask that of you."

"No need to get snappy, Jackie boy," Shadow chuckled, pushing her dark fringe out of her face. She sat behind a glowing wall of light that rippled every time she brushed past it, forming a wall that very much resembled clear water. "It was just a question. I'm just as confused about this as you are."

It was indeed strange; this weird resemblance that tied us together. It became quite apparent that neither Shadow nor I knew what the hell was going on. With no other options left, North had ordered us to bring the other Winter Spirit back to the North Pole, confining her in one of the few cells below the wondrous toy workshop. The others had long since returned above ground, waiting for some sign from Manny that would indicate some direction for us all to head in.

But I just couldn't leave her alone.

I had known that there was something strange within her eyes the second I had seen her and I now I knew what. Shadow had gone through every last bit of pain and suffering that I had in the last 300 years, knowing every little thought that had ever crossed my mind. Every desire, every longing; we had both experienced them, no words even needing to pass our lips. Our locked stares said it all; one pair of eyes being dyed a light blue while the other was the very yellow of a shadowed soul.

She knew me better than I did.

"So… your name was Jack?" I asked awkwardly, scratching the back of my head.

"Short for Jacqueline," she explained, nodding her head. "Never really got into the girly things as a kid. Hence the haircut," she laughed, running her hand through her short black locks. "My little sister though…"

"Ah," I murmured, a soft smile lighting up my face as I chuckled. I could still remember her freckled cheeks stretched out into a grin, my head rising just in time to see the same soft expression reflected on her face. "She was girly. Loved it when I braided her hair-"

"-But hated the tricks I played on her," Shadow finished, a grin snapping across her face. "That was a lot of-"

"Fun?" I finished. There was something eerily natural about the two of us finishing each other's sentences, as if the words were originally meant to be said together. Shadow cracked a grin, nodding her head as she slowly sat on the ground opposite the barrier. I did the same, liking this new level; it was almost as if we were sitting down together to talk like two long lost friends.

But we weren't the same person anymore.

"Why did you go against the Guardians?" I asked, oddly curious of her world and how everything must have panned out.

"Why didn't you?" she countered, a serious expression replacing the jollity in her amber eyes. "I mean, they captured you, dragged you up north in a rucksack, demanded you become a Guardian, treated you like shit and then turned their back on you when you made one little mistake. They didn't want to understand, Jack. All you ever wanted was to know who you had once been; they never had to go through that. You guys never could have gotten along."

"But I did in the end," I replied, chewing on my bottom lip as I stared down at my hands. "We defeated Pitch, defeated the Night Mares and… I was believed in."

"Sounds awfully jolly," she laughed, tossing her bangs out of her face. "But… I still prefer my reality."

"What was so great about it?" I asked, wanting to know what I had managed to avoid with just that one little choice. "I mean, you did get your memories back, right? How could you side with Pitch after seeing them?"

"I saw my memories after the battle," she explained, cocking her head to the side as she thought about it. "Right before Tooth and North faded. But… what I saw only strengthened my beliefs."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was a fearless bloody kid, Jack," she explained, lacing her hands together. "We both were. I know you think this too. We both wonder if we had… I don't know… just a _touch of fear-_"

"-We might not have killed ourselves or put our little sister in danger," I finished, something feeling horribly right about the statement. "And the Man in the Moon-"

"-He never did anything to help us," Shadow continued, our sentences melding together like one complete being. "Never gave us our memories-"

"-Or bothered to speak to us in 300 years-"

"-Or gave us a purpose until he needed us," she finished quietly, her eyes glazing over as she became lost in the same memory as I was. I somehow knew that we were both remembering a young spirit wandering through a town, cringing every time some unbelieving human walked straight through us coldly.

"We were so alone…" I murmured, raising my head just as she did.

"Well… I suppose we were never really alone," she murmured, slowly raising a hand and holding it a few centimetres from the barrier. I did the same, gently touching the rippling surface just as she did the same. A jolt travelled up her hand and she reared back, leaping to her feet and clutching her hand. "Ow!" she hissed, glaring at the ripping barrier. "What kind of sadistic cell is this?!"

I laughed, slowly getting to my feet as well. "We really are so alike," I said, watching as she slowly returned the expression, her facial features seeming so much softer than they had been around the Guardians.

"I may not know where I am or how I'm going to get home but… this may not be so bad," she said, smiling back at me. "It's nice… being able to talk to someone so much like me."

"Same with me."

That set us both off in a jolly laugh, blue eyes meeting amber. We eventually faded into a comfortable silence, a time in which we both became lost in the same thoughts. I could practically hear the words that we exchanged, our thinking being so similar that it was as if we were psychic.

"You can practically hear them upstairs," I chuckled after a long time, the sound of debating coming from all the way at the top of the dungeon stairs.

"I haven't heard their voices in so long," Shadow murmured, closing her eyes. "But… I guess they're definitely not the people from my world." She reopened her amber irises, her eyes softening as she picked up on every obvious thought that seemed to pass through my skull. "You don't like the fact that we were the reason your Guardians died back in my world."

Her words were not a question, merely a statement that gave no room for argument.

"I guess because I chose the Guardians, I got to build connections with them," I stated, fiddling with my fingers awkwardly. "I mean… as weird as it sounds, I understand why you went against them but because of who I am now, I don't want to think about hurting them."

"That's okay, I get where you're coming from," she replied, nodding her head in understanding. "I understand why you stayed with them, as weird as it may seem. I guess our decision was based-"

"-On the same concept," I finished. I suddenly heard the others begin to call my name from the top of the stairs, making me curse under my breath. I glanced back at Shadow apologetically, only getting to my feet once she nodded her head in their direction.

"It's been nice talking to you, Jack," she murmured, leaning back against her cell. "I feel as if that horrible pit in my chest has begun to feel a little less empty. You know what I'm talking about."

"I do," I murmured, a content smile lighting up my face as I took a step towards the stairs. "It's been nice talking to you too."

As I turned away, I felt something deep inside of my being that made my next breath come a little easier. Despite my companionship with the Guardians and the Believers I now had, Shadow had seemed to fill a horrible chasm inside of my very soul.

She made the loneliness a little easier to bear.


	5. Jolly Good Fun

**Jack P.O.V.**

"Someone's been having fun with the evil Jack," Bunnymund commented, giving me a dry look as I climbed up the stairs.

"I have actually," I replied pleasantly, that content smile remaining on my lips. "It's such a nice feeling to have someone just like me to talk to."

"Jack, she's not like you though," Tooth said worriedly, fiddling with her fingers as she tried to avoid my eye. "She's _evil._ She chose Pitch, she…"

"She killed Tooth and North," Bunnymund finished, his face going hard as he realised that neither of the other Guardians would be able to say it aloud. The room faded into silence but this one was tense, a horrible pause in which I couldn't tell what they were thinking like I had with Shadow.

"Besides the decisions that we've made, we are essentially the same being," I replied cautiously, knowing that I was already on thin ice.

"It's your decisions that determine who you are," Bunnymund argued, the others in the room still not in the right frame of mind to say anything. "She made the wrong decision and now she's-"

"She's still just like me!" I argued, beginning to get pissed at his close-mindedness towards our situation. "Our decision wasn't all that big of a defining moment!"

"So, what?! You mean you could still end up killing your friends?!"

"Don't put words into my mouth, Bunny-"

"I'm not! You're the one who just said it!"

"_Listen _to me, Bunny!" I yelled, an obvious beg resounding through my voice. "Shadow was just like me! She still is-"

"So you can still be our enemy?!"

"I never said-"

"You didn't have to!"

"WILL YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, slamming my staff onto the ground. Almost instantly, a torrent of frost slashed through the room, spreading over the floor in a thin layer and cooling their feet. Bunny's jaw snapped shut with an audible clack, his arms folding as he waited for an answer that he would be able to understand. I let out a shaky breath, my eyes darting over the other's surprised faces before they flickered back to Bunny's. "You don't… you don't understand, Bunny," I murmured, suddenly becoming embarrassed by my words. "I mean… there's a girl down stairs who knows every little bit of my past. She lived through the same horrible loneliness. In a way, she… she was there. She was there for me when you guys weren't."

I watched as Bunny's superior look slowly faded from his face and he sighed, pulling on one of the tufts of fur on his chubby cheek. "I'm sorry, Jack," he murmured, stepping forward and placing a paw on my shoulder. "I didn't mean to snap. But… just make sure that you don't let that girl lead you astray. Okay?"

"Okay," I said, a smile breaking out on my face at having his understanding. Despite my new attachment to the other Jack, I couldn't help but disagree with her decision to go against the Guardians.

After all, they were my family.

**Shadow P.O.V.**

"The sweetness between you guys is giving me a cavity," I called, not even bothering to turn around as the Guardians slowly trailed into the room. I could feel this world's Jack Frost enter as well, his reassuring presence calming down the ball of restlessness that usually whirled inside of my stomach. I had heard every single world yelled from upstairs, my dislike of this world's Easter Bunny growing just as speedily as my fondness for Jack.

"Well maybe we can turn on the lights, I'm sure it'll calm you _right down,_" the rabbit joked darkly, his voice so bitter that I could practically feel the other Jack's desire to smack him.

"Jack, remember you're the good one of us two here," I laughed, the two of us practically exchanging a mental laugh. I slowly turned around, just in time to see Bunnymund glaring at the white haired boy who was trying to hide his smile.

"What? I can't help if she and I think the same," Jack replied awkwardly, placing his finger to his lips so that I would keep our shared thoughts our little secret. I laughed and nodded, loving the expression of rage that appeared on the rabbit's face when he realised that we were having a mental conversation.

"So tell me… um… other Jack," the large man who I had once known as North said, rubbing his bearded chin as he cautiously stepped towards the barrier. "What are your intentions?"

"Intentions?" I asked, smirking at how uncomfortable he looked from just addressing me. It would seem that learning of his parallel self's death had set him a little on edge.

"Yes, intentions," he repeated, nodding his head. "Good? Bad? I know that you are deemed as 'bad' in your old world but we have to know if you intend to harm any of our world's occupants."

I tossed Jack a glance from the corner of my eyes, a little wary of giving up any plans that I might have first thought of when I entered this world. We stared straight into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, hundreds of things being unsaid yet conveyed in the silence of our stare. I knew just as well as he did that there were so many things that the two of us wished to discuss with each other, many of which we would be unable to do if I was declared this world's Guardians' enemy. Jack gave the barest of nods and I sighed, returning my attention to North's large form.

"If Jack wishes no harm on anyone, I will abide," I replied, showing only indifference to the damn bastards who just didn't seem to want to die. "I don't particularly want to stuff up his version of happiness. Just as I wouldn't wish for him to wreck my happiness."

"Happiness?" the rabbit snorted, making my lips press into a hard line as I refused to so much as glance at him. "You call being a scary monster that children run from happiness?!"

"And you wonder why I nearly killed you in my world."

"From what I heard, parallel Bunnymund smacked you pretty damn well."

My head snapped around to glare at him, an animalistic growl tearing itself from my throat as I narrowed my eyes warningly. The Rabbit reciprocated almost immediately, cracking his knuckles and pulling out a boomerang.

Lucky for him, this world's Jack was looking out for him.

"Whoa, knock it off you two!" my albino counterpart said hurriedly, stepping in between us. "Bunny, you and I both know how irritating I can be. Ya gotta pull your head in and keep your temper in check." He turned his head towards me, his brow raised as a tiny smirk was shown only to me. "And you, Miss Trouble-starter, need to tone it down a little."

I raised a brow as well, completely reflecting his expression straight back at him. "You know as well as I do that ain't gonna happen," I said, amusement bubbling away inside of me at having been placed in such a strange situation.

"Well, I know that you that I know it but it still needs to be attempted, as impossible as it sounds," he chuckled, taking a step away from the cell's barrier to glance affectionately back at the other Guardians. I watched that singular expression for a few moments before I tore my eyes away, returning my focus to the large head of their group.

"Jack… do you trust Dark Jack?" he asked cautiously, his eyes flickering between us.

"I do," he replied, nodding his head in absolute certainty as he smile back at me. In any other circumstance, I might have used that trust to manipulate him, twisting his arm behind his back and pushing him so roughly into a corner that he'd never be able to fight back again. But this time was different, this time, the goodness of this world's Jack called out to me, almost like a younger sibling begging for a guiding hand.

Besides, I knew him and his past too well to mess things up, no matter how evil I was.

"If Jack trusts you… then I trust you," North said slowly, approaching the rippling barrier between us. He paused in his step at one point though, his eyes narrowed in warning as he raised a single hand and pointed straight at me. "But know this, if you betray us or harm even a single child, no amount of begging will save you from our wrath. Understand, Dark Jack?"

"Shadow," I said as my only answer, getting to my feet as well. I stared him dead in the eye, a habit that I had accustomed from working with the Boogieman for so long. "My name is Shadow. And yeah, I understand."

And with those words, the barrier between their light and my darkness dissolved, making a wave of both vulnerability and power wash over me. I placed my hands on my hips, smirking across at the other Guardians as Jack slowly eased his way over to me.

"This is going to be jolly good _fun._"


	6. Frost Bonding Time

**Bunny P.O.V.**

My eyebrow twitched, my claws slowly digging into the arm rests of my chair. I briefly heard a giggle from Tooth beside me before she covered her mouth, avoiding my harsh gaze as expertly as she could. Sandy and North had been gone for hours, the two partners in crime having managed to escape the two rambling Jack Frost's so that they could deliver Christmas to the boys and girls of the world.

Hence, Tooth and I were left to watch them.

"So, around 45 years ago-"

"-There was a totally massive-"

"-Ice storm that knocked down like all the-"

"-Electrical poles in this little town and-"

"-Oh my gosh! You should have seen their faces!"

The two spirits broke out into uncontrollable laughter, their shared memory having been recounted in such perfect sync that when one cut off, the other picked it up straight away. They'd been going over old memories for quite a while, trying to discover if there were any differences in their pasts beside their gender and that one decision that had completely changed both of their futures.

"Alright, so basically up until the 1970's-"

"-There are no differences," Shadow finished, nodding her head as she scribbled off another decade from her notebook. "Next: the 1980's."

"Alright! You're both the same person! We get it!" I interrupted, not sure if I could take another 10 years' worth of memories. "Why don't you guys go play or something outside?"

"North doesn't wanna let us out," Jack replied almost instantly, edging closer to his dark companion.

"No, North doesn't want to let _me _out," Shadow corrected, shoving her hands into her black hoodie's pockets moodily.

"Technically you and I _are _the same person-"

"But we _both _know that he is biased towards the half of us that is evil," she interrupted, that infuriating habit of theirs to refer to themselves as one person beginning to grate on my nerves.

"Hm… yeah, I know."

The two of them sighed in perfect sync, both flopping onto their backsides and leaning back lazily. My eyebrow twitched again but whatever self-control Tooth had seemed to snap, her laughter filling the room. I turned to glare at her but she merely ignored me, a grin revealing her perfectly white teeth.

"Aw, you two are so gorgeous!" she squealed, fluttering and darting between the two frozen spirits. She began prattling out nonsense that nobody could make head nor tails of, my attention being drawn to the darker of the two spirits who I knew had been the cause of Parallel Tooth's death.

"Tooth, I don't want you that close to her," I stated suddenly, grabbing her arm as she drifted past me. She cut off midsentence, her eyes snapping over to me as the room faded into a tense silence.

"Why? What's wrong, Bunny?" she asked curiously, a frown creasing her feathered brow.

"You know why," I murmured, trying to keep my voice low as I stared distrustfully back at the amber eyed thing. She narrowed her eyes right back at me, a heated glare forming on her face.

**Jack P.O.V.**

"And it begins again!" Shadow yelled in frustration, tossing her hands up into the air before marching over to the window defiantly. I hastened to follow her, leaving Tooth and Bunny staring after us as I tried to keep up with her long, angry strides. "Damn Guardians! Damn Easter Bunny! Damn every good little bastard that bloody _believes-_"

"Shadow! Stop!" I called, grabbing onto her wrist. She swung around to glare at me, her pools of bottomless amber ringing with an intensity that made my heart drop slightly in fear. She tensed up, a slight tremble going up her arm as she leaned forward, taking a sniff.

"Huh…" she murmured, the angry expression beginning to diminish slightly. "…I almost forgot… what my own fear smelt like."

"Shadow-"

"Sorry, Jack," she murmured, slipping her hand from my grasp as she offered me an apologetic look. "I never meant to scare you. I forget how fragile the good half of me was."

"It's fine…" I murmured, equally as quiet as I guided her back over towards the sitting chair. Bunny backed up a few distrustful steps, dragging Tooth along with him as Shadow watched on in annoyance. "But you gotta talk and use your words rather than your actions. Not everyone in this world can share our wonderful thoughts."

"Look, I know you're the 'good guy' and all but I don't have as much patience as you," Shadow replied, her eyes flickering over angrily towards the rabbit who merely glared back at her. "In fact, I don't even _have_ patience. That furry _thing_ over there treated me like shit back in my world and he is sure as hell making it even worse in this one too!"

"Alright, I understand that," I murmured, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "And Bunny needs to learn to cooperate a bit more with you-"

"Which isn't going to happen!" the Guardian of Easter interrupted, earning a silencing glare from both versions of Jack.

"-But you gotta try your best in this world," I finished, eventually returning my focus to the liquid-amber eyes that so desperately wanted to tear off some heads. "We're trying really hard to try and find a way to get you home but it's going to take some time."

"I say just dispose of her here," Bunny grumbled as he turned towards the door. "Her world is probably much better off without her."

_Slam!_

**Shadow P.O.V.**

"You take that back!" I yelled, slamming the Rabbit against the wall with a single hand. I held his throat in my hand, my teeth gritted in utter rage as I slowly choked the life out of him. "You take that back right now, you oversized kangaroo!"

"Shadow!" Jack yelled, grabbing my shoulders and trying to force me to let go of the struggling Guardian but it didn't work.

There was a reason I controlled the world that I came from.

"Shadow! Let him go!"

"Shadow!" Tooth suddenly yelled, her voice beginning to break through the cloud of murderous intent in my skull. I all too suddenly became aware of what I was doing, my fingers going slack and allowing the furred thing to slide to the floor with a groan.

The Tooth Fairy rushed to his side, checking the dazed rabbit over with a frantic sweep of her eyes. She turned to look back at me, her eyes filled with a kind of horror that hit me much harder than I ever thought it would. I slowly inched backwards, unable to take my eyes from her violet orbs until I reached the door.

And for once, the spirit formerly known as Jack Frost fled.


	7. Lonely

**Daybreak: Hey! **** So I got a few awesome reviews from the last chapter so I thought I might upload the next chapter :D Thankyou to everyone who faved and followed! And the reviews were so sweet guys :') thankyou!**

**Jack P.O.V.**

"Jack! I can't find Shadow anywhere!" Tooth yelled, her eyes wide as she fluttered into the lounge room. She was completely frantic, her hands and wings twitching in a way that reminded me of someone who was about to have a complete mental breakdown.

"Oh, you were looking for her?" I asked in surprise, my tone completely calm in comparison to hers. "Don't worry, I know where she is."

"Wha… but… but how?!" she asked in complete disbelief, stopping the fluttering of her wings and stomping onto the ground.

I tapped the side of my head, closing the book I had been reading and resting it in my lap. "I just know what she's thinking," I replied, feeling as if it were all the answer I needed to give her.

"You can't base the knowledge of her whereabouts by claiming you know what she's thinking!"

"East wing, fifth corridor, twelfth hallway, ninth door," I replied, leaning back in my chair, as I smirked over at her look of complete bewilderment. "She's sitting on the candelabra, her brow furrowed in a look of annoyance as she gently taps the end of her staff against the ground and tries to reason through why she let Bunny go as soon as you called out to her."

"How… How do you know that?!" she asked incredulously, her jaw falling open. I merely shrugged my shoulders, reopening my book.

"It's a gift," I laughed, shaking my head to let her know I was joking. "No, see that's just where I go when I'm upset. And… well, we're the same person; everything that's been going through her mind is pretty much reflected in my own, just in different patterns."

"…That doesn't really make any sense."

"Doesn't have to," I replied, chuckling quietly to myself as I scanned my eyes over a few lines in my book. I sent her a shooing motion, letting out a soft sigh and relaxing the moment that she walked back out. I dropped the book onto the table beside me, actually glancing at what it was now that Tooth was gone.

_The Lonely Rabbit…_

"Hmph," I said, turning my face away from it as I stared up at the ceiling. "What a stupid book. Trying to understand and talk about what it is like to be truly alone…"

I chewed on my bottom lip, my fingers gently easing towards the skin of my wrist. The first indent there was shallow, uncertain, as if it were the first time that a mark had been left on such skin. The next was slightly deeper and straighter, a horrifying show of how acquainted the user had been becoming. I never once looked down at the skin but, as I trailed my arm up it, a dozen memories began flooding my mind.

And I hated all of them.

I had luckily just been pulling down the sleeve of my hoodie when Bunnymund, North and Sandy entered, the rabbit's face hard and emotionless as he glanced back at me. A tug of guilt plagued my stomach before I forcibly reminded myself that it hadn't been me to do it to him.

_But why does it feel as if it were?!_

"Jack, where is Shadow?" North asked, surprise lighting up his face to find the spirit not hanging around with me.

"She wanted to be by herself for a while," I replied, leaning back in my chair and feigning disinterest. "And most likely, Tooth has followed my directions to find her, Shadow's flipped and will be here in 3… 2… 1…"

"I told you to stay away from me!" Shadow yelled, shooting into the room and hiding near the top of the ceiling. The Tooth Fairy followed after her closely, her face a mix of concern and confusion.

"But I just want to talk, Jack!" she called hurriedly, glancing over one of the ceiling's beams to lock eyes with her.

"Don't call me Jack!" Shadow hissed, leaping over to the other side of the ceiling. "I'm not that same Winter Spirit! And besides, what's the point? _I'm _bad! I helped to _kill _you in my world! Just bloody hate me already!"

"Jack, I could never hate you," she murmured, her eyes taking on a sadder glint as she cautiously inched her way over to me.

"I'm. Not. Your. _Jack!_" she hissed, her body tensing up as those amber eyes of hers darkened. I could sense something tugging on my own soul in that moment, something awful that had me wanting to lock my jaw and growl and roar like an animal under threat.

I wanted to hurt someone.

The thought itself snapped me out of it. I reeled from it, clutching at my chest in panic as I stumbled backwards and knocked into the table. Sandy, North and Bunny glanced at me in surprise but the two people on the ceiling never broke eye contact with one another.

"You have always been our Jack," Tooth said, her forgiving tone sounding like a black sickness that welled up in both mine and Shadow's ears. For the briefest moment, I could feel my mind shifting into perfect sync with Shadows, a horrible understanding of her hatred and her love of killing becoming present in my mind before fading altogether. "You made a few bad decisions but that's okay! You're still our beloved-"

I felt the strike before Shadow even made a move. The good part of my heart suddenly over rid the darkness of Shadow's that had begun to seep into mine. My body moved on instinct, flying through the air just in time to push Tooth's unsuspecting form away from the violent strike.

But it never came.

The fist stopped less than a centimetre from my cheek, her pale, slightly grey skin coming into full view. I slowly glanced towards her face, seeing her breathing heavily and her shadowed eyes being filled with liquid fire. Her hand trembled slightly before she snatched it back, shoving it into the navy blue material of her hoodie.

"Don't you ever get between me and someone else again," she hissed, turning her pale face away from mine as she slowly drifted down towards the floor. She pushed past the other speechless Guardians, leaving the room with me hot on her tail.

"Shadow-"

"What do you want me to say, Jack?!" she snapped, stopping mid step to glare back at me. We were barely a few steps from the door, the raised hair on the back of my neck telling me that the Guardians were watching our exchange silently. "You know _exactly _what I was thinking, _exactly _what I wanted to do and why I was going to do it!"

"I know, Shadow, but you need to calm down," I said gently, placing my hands on her shoulders. "You're still on the defensive. You know that I know you better than anyone else here and right now you're about to go catastrophic."

"Well I wouldn't be like that if your bastard friends learned to stop trying to convert me into a light spirit!"

"Hey, that's a little too harsh, Shadow," I replied, frowning at her choice of words. I mean, I understood where she was coming from but I hated swearing or having someone refer to people I cared about in such a way.

Shadow, of course, didn't take too well to the comment.

"You of all people shouldn't be judging me!" she yelled, her hand shooting out and grabbing my collar. She slammed me into a wall, her grip on me being so tight that if I had wanted to struggle, it wouldn't do me any good. Her amber pools stared straight into my blue ones, an intensity and rage laying in them so thickly that any other person wouldn't have been able to see what was lying just below the surface.

Pain.

"We went through the same thing, Jack!" she yelled, her voice filled with accusations and hatred. Her eyes begged with me, wanting an answer that we both knew wouldn't be able to satisfy us. "We both got hurt! 300 years! How could you just forget about that?!"

"I didn't forget, Shadow…"

"Then why are you a Guardian?!" she yelled, her other hand snapping out and grabbing my wrist.

She removed her other hand from my throat, knowing full well that no matter what she was about to do or show me, I wasn't going to run away. She tugged up the sleeve of her dark hoodie, the purpling scars that lined her wrist standing out on her pale grey skin.

"Do these things mean nothing to you?!" she asked, leaving her sleeve rolled up as she exposed the skin of my own wrist.

Somewhere in the back of my head, I heard the others gasp at the marks now made obvious but I honestly couldn't find it in myself to care, Shadow being my top priority at the moment. She pressed her palm against mine, the scars matching up in perfect sync with my own. She stared straight into my eyes, her amber orbs practically begging me to understand where so many others had been unable to. Her mouth moved, saying words that were so true to both of our hearts that I found our words slurring together once more.

"The Man in the Moon-"

"-The children-"

"-Our little sister-"

"-The parents that said we didn't exist-"

"-The Guardians…" Shadow whispered, her fingers entwining with mine and clenching so tightly that her knuckles went white. She gritted her teeth, that painful look in her eyes surging before being pushed back down below the surface again. "It _hurt. _It hurt so much, Jack! How… how could you stay with them after all of that? How could you be someone who protected the children, the humans, the _world…_ after what happened?"

"I…" I began, something holding me back from defending them. I glanced from those burning amber eyes towards the four peering faces staring at us from the sitting room.

Sandy's face was silent but warm, something that in any other case would have made me smile back. Tooth's violet eyes were filled with love and worry, something that had always made me feel cared for. North's head was held high, his hand on Tooth's shoulder in a reassuring manner that he had always used on me as well. Bunnymund's jaw was set, a fiercely protective set to his face that made me realise he would step in on a single word from me.

But that was now, not what it had been like back then.

"I… don't know why…" I murmured, watching as something resembling dejection flashed through their eyes. I turned my face away, the truth of my words making something in my chest burn like icy fire. "…I… just don't know… why I trusted them…"

And I began to feel something cold, welling up from the very bottom of my being.

I stared into the clear, amber orbs for a long time, feeling myself melding my own form into them. I could practically feel it; the brief flash of colour that was gone before anyone other than Shadow and I could see it. I watched as comprehension flashed through her eyes before her hand squeezed mine even tighter, that coldness seeping between our skins.

But when she pulled away and leapt out the window, I made no move to follow.

I was in limbo.


	8. Forgiveness

**Daybreak: Crud! I am so sorry I uploaded the wrong chapter omg **** that was so embarrassing! Thankyou to those who let me know**

**Tooth P.O.V.**

…_I… just don't know… why I trusted them…_

"What did he mean by that?" I whispered, pacing back and forth through the air above Sandy, Bunny and North. "Why would he say that? What on Earth is going on?" I paused in my flight path, glancing down at the three other silent Guardians who were sitting down, completely lost in their own thoughts. "North… what were those marks on both of their arms?"

North let out a heavy sigh, the other two spirits looking to him for guidance. I doubted that they had any idea what they were either. "I never ever expected… Of all people, Jack would…" he murmured, lacing his hands together.

"North…?" Bunny whispered, his face still hard from Jack's outright rejection of us. "What were they?"

"They're something that… a lot of human teenagers call 'cuts'," he murmured, leaning on his entwined hands as he so desperately tried to put his knowledge into words. "I wouldn't expect you guys to know it as… well… they usually are acts committed by teenagers or children who do not believe."

"But what _are _they?" I asked, my unusual impatience beginning to make me snappier than normal.

"They are self-inflicted wounds," North finally said, his tone heavy as he let out a held breath. The room dropped into automatic silence, each of us unable to really process what he had said.

"Self-inflicted… what the hell are you talking about, North?!" Bunny demanded, his brows lowering in anger. "Are you saying that Jack… that he hurt himself on purpose?! Why would he do that?!"

"I don't know why _he _did it," North murmured, finally raising his head and showing us the haunted glint in his eyes. "But… humans do it… to relieve pressure. They do it so that they can feel actual pain instead of mental or emotional pain."

"But…" I murmured, trying to imagine someone actually doing that to themselves. I most definitely couldn't imagine Jack Frost, the boy who was Fun incarnate, having so much pain that he'd…

"So what are we going to do about Shadow?" Bunny interrupted, his tone indicating that this was a conversation that he didn't particularly want to have. "She ran off after that bloody display."

"Leave her be for now," North said, rubbing at his forehead tiredly. "She's not going to do anything. She promised it."

"She's evil. I doubt she'll uphold a promise," Bunny grumbled under his breath. We all knew that he was itching to teach her a lesson, especially after messing with Jack's, our friend's, head.

"She will if it means staying true to her other half," North murmured, something strange ringing about the words. I realised it almost a second later when I remembered the force in which the girl had gripped Jack's hand, as if she knew she would crack if he had turned her away.

And Jack had clutched her hand just as tightly.

"Shadow… won't do anything to hurt our Jack," I murmured, knowing that the words were true the second they left my mouth.

"Exactly," North murmured. "So we need to focus our attention on our biggest problem."

Jack.

**Jack P.O.V.**

_Where did you get that? Where's Baby Tooth? Jack… what have you done?!_

_That's why you weren't here? You were with Pitch?!_

"I didn't mean it! I didn't mean to do it!" I cried, pulling my knees up to my chest as I tried so desperately to keep the memories from overtaking me. I hadn't had moments like this for at least a year, since the time I had taken my oath of Guardianship. I thought I was invincible, a perfect spirit that finally had Believers and a home and family.

_He's got to go…_

Bunny, why would you say that?

_We should never have trusted you!_

I sucked in a horrible gasp, my chest constricting and trying to prevent me from breathing. The first time Bunny had ever raised his fist at me had been so frightening, despite the fact that he had never hit me. The looks on their faces… it had torn a hole in my heart so large that all I had wanted to do was to lie back and die. One of my hands reached up my long sleeve, brushing over the deep scar that was old but still fresher than the rest.

The last time I had cut… was because of them.

They'd turned their backs on me so slowly; it was almost as if a door had been closing on me and my heart. I writhed on the floor, hating my memories and the centuries of torment that flew through my mind. If I could cry, I would have been sobbing my eyes out in that moment but my tear ducts had dried up a long time ago.

The darkness had been so tantalising, the perfect opportunity to escape that loneliness. Pitch's hand had been outstretched to me, his hand looking so perfectly cool that it would not scald the icy skin of my own.

_After all… what goes together better than cold and dark?_

How good must it have felt for Shadow, accepting his offer and taking the easy way out? No more pain, no more suffering. I hadn't seen a single mark extra that marred her skin. She seemed so happy, so at ease with who she was and what she did.

No more pain…

_I'm so empty…_

"Get up, Jack!" I hissed through my teeth, my hands shaking before my eyes as I forced myself to sit up and push through the memories. I tried to remember the good things that had happened after choosing to defy Pitch, the wonderful moments with the Guardians and my Believers.

But I couldn't get passed the bad.

"Get up, you little weakling!" I hissed, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip. My limbs spasmed but I somehow managed to get to my feet, using my staff as a third leg to remain upright. "They'd laugh at you if they could see how pathetic you look right now!"

I looked towards the bathroom off to the side of the guest room I was in, a familiar chill running up my spine as I stumbled towards it. I fell heavily against the side of the bathtub, my eyes watering at the pain spiralling up my side from the impact. I hated the feeling in my gut but I knew it had to be countered before something bad happened when I was so vulnerable.

And my unhealthy addiction caused me to relapse.

I reached into the small bathroom cabinet opposite me, my fingers brushing over a familiar piece of metal that froze at my touch. I shuddered a little, hating it but simultaneously relishing the temporary relief that it would bring me. I clutched the metal tightly in my hands, yanking the sleeve of my hoodie up and barring my scarred skin to the world.

"Please forgive me, Shadow…" I whispered through clenched teeth, holding the razor to the untouched skin at my forearm. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see the crimson that I knew would come at just the most delicate of scrapes.

And I slashed it across the skin with as much force as I could bear.

**Shadow P.O.V.**

"Do not beg forgiveness, Jack…" I murmured, a dribble of freezing crimson dragging down my arm and collecting in my cupped palm.

I allowed the tiniest smile to light up my face as I stared at it, the cold, winter air blowing through my black locks. I allowed the razor sharp piece of darkness to dissolve through my fingers, falling like black sand towards the ground hundreds of metres away. I sat atop a sky scraper, watching as golden dream sand flowed freely through the town. I could see a few splodges of black sand as well, a constant presence of the darkness that I knew hadn't been swallowed by this world's Jack Frost.

"I know of my tainting influence…" I murmured, staring up towards the stars that twinkled below a sky that was not constantly covered by a cloud of nightmare sand. "I know of my evil. I know that I am not meant for a world of your kind of light. I destroyed my own world, killed the Guardians, forced the humans to live in constant fear and devoured the King of Nightmares."

I allowed my hand to turn and go limp, allowing the pooled blood to drip down and fall towards the ground that I could barely see through the early morning frost. It continued to drop slowly and in a way that seemed so intimate, like a promise between myself, the silent night and the boy of pure white snow.

I knew in that moment that I would shatter it.

Whether I wanted to or not.

"It is I who should beg for your forgiveness."


	9. Alliances of the Jacks

**Shadow P.O.V.**

I pulled my hoodie far over my face, making sure that my black hair and glinting yellow eyes weren't visible as I approached the long-broken bed frame that sat in the depths of the woods. An unconscious smirk tugged at my lips, something that was second nature to me and which I couldn't help.

I wish I could oppose my nature just this once.

A sharp kick delivered from me sent the rickety bed frame flying through the air, landing in a pile of broken limbs by a tree. I chuckled darkly, recognising the dark entrance from my own timeline. It had been my home for at least a year, the darkness becoming a permanent home for me.

So imagine how irritated I was, knowing that it housed someone else in this world.

I stepped straight into the hole, the familiar wash of cold air filling my senses as I fell through stories of pure darkness. I let out a sigh of relief now that the light was no longer directly over me. The darkness inside of me that had once been the Pitch Black from my world writhed in pleasure, glad that it was finally somewhere that it knew. I landed lightly on the hard floor of the Nightmare King's lair, my skin having wave upon wave of familiar pleasure roll off of it.

Oh, how I had missed Fear.

"My, my, now this is a sight for sore eyes."

I dug my hands into the pockets of my hoodie, keeping my distinguishing features swathed in shadows. A pair of yellow eyes leered out at me from the deepest recessions of darkness, a white smirk preceding the outline of a familiar grey body.

"Jack Frost, and to what do I owe the pleasure?" Pitch Black asked, his voice rolling off of me with its smoothness. I hadn't heard his voice outside of my own head in what seemed like months, his darkness and fear having long since been absorbed by my own evil intent.

"Thought I'd just pay a visit," I chuckled, leisurely taking a few steps around the ring of the open courtyard. I could hear the familiar whispers of Night Mares lining every nook and cranny, the delicious energy that they were giving off renewing my strength. "Haven't heard tell of you in what seems like forever."

"Yes well I suppose that my absence pleased you and those good for nothings the Guardians, didn't it?" Pitch said bitterly, reaching out a hand to pat the Night Mare that had suddenly materialised beside him.

"Perhaps it pleased _them_," I replied, letting my smirk increase slightly at how much fun I was having. "But it kind of leaves me feeling a little dejected."

"Dejected?" Pitch asked, genuine surprise entering his voice. "You were the one that stopped my attempts, Frost. You cannot possibly be wishing that I had succeeded?"

"I didn't deter any of your attempts, Black," I replied, a slight chuckle entering my voice at his ignorance.

"You haven't by any chance lost your memories again, have you?"

"No," I laughed again. "But I think that you have mistaken me for someone else, Pitch. It is the other Jack Frost that stopped your attempts."

"Other? Are you claiming that there are two of you?" Pitch Black asked curiously, his footsteps being large and leisurely, trying to hide the cautiousness of his actions. He was trying to appear completely careless but, unfortunately for him, I knew him much too well.

"I highly doubt that there are just two," I answered, pulling out one of my hands to examine the grey skin on the back of my hand. "I mean, it was just chance that the Jack Frost of this world encountered the Jack Frost of a parallel universe. Who is to say that there are just two worlds in total?"

"Parallel worlds? Jack, I think you may have bumped your head," Pitch chuckled, coming to stand before me.

"Heh, I'd know if he did," I laughed, turning my face up a little to grin up at him. I raised a hand, running it through my hair while simultaneous pushing my navy blue hood back. I stared straight up at Pitch with the golden eyes that I had embraced the moment I had taken his outstretched hand in my own world. His own pools of gold widened in shock, my wash of black hair falling across my brow and framing my shadowed face.

"You…" he began to say, at a complete loss for words.

"Me? Heh, well my name is Shadow," I replied, holding my hands out to the side as shadows began to curl and writhe in my hands. A black staff formed in my hand, the automatic eye catcher in which Pitch Black remained focused on before slowly moving his gaze to meet mine. "I am the spirit formerly known as Jack Frost in my own dimension. The only difference between me and this world's Frost is the decision that we made."

"And which decision is that?" Pitch asked curiously, his actions still filled with wariness and distrust now that he knew that I was not the same person he knew and hated.

"I joined my Pitch," I giggled, holding my free hand out into the air by my side. Almost immediately, a Night Mare sensed my likeminded presence and moved forward, pressing its muzzle into my open palm. It snorted happily, the hot breath clouding against my frozen palm. I turned my gaze back to Pitch, a smirk lighting up both of our faces.

"I think we have a lot to discuss… Shadow, my dear."

**Jack P.O.V.**

"Jack, sweetie," Tooth called, knocking against the guest bedroom's door. "Can I please talk to you?"

"You already are…" I grumbled, sitting limply against the side of the room's bed. I closed my eyes, pressing my forehead into my knees as the door opened and closed.

"Jack… you okay?" Tooth asked gently, coming over to sit beside me. I felt her place her hand on my arm, her fingers gently wrapping around the fresh cut just beneath my sleeve. I cringed and pulled it out of her grasp, holding it protectively to my chest as I avoided her sharp gaze.

"I'm fine," I mumbled.

"Jack. Show me your arm."

"No," I replied automatically, my grip on my own flesh tightening. I could feel the white hot agony spiralling through my body, making my breath hiss out from between my teeth. I slowly forced myself to glance at Tooth, having never been so surprised by the expression on her face.

"Jack," she said, her violet eyes alight with a protective fury that terrified me. "Show. Me. Your. Arm."

Tooth's hand slowly eased forward and took my wrist, prying my motionless fingers from the material of the hoodie methodically. I watched her the entire time, the way her face remained hard as she slowly pulled on the sleeve of my hoodie and bunched it up at my elbow. I watched as she sucked in a breath, her body going very still as she stared horrifically at the swollen, slowly scabbing wound. It framed my skin perfectly, looking almost eerily beautiful in comparison with my pale skin and violet scars.

Tooth, on the other hand, seemed positively nauseous at the sight.

"Oh, Jack…" she whispered, placing a hand over her mouth as she raised her watery eyes to meet mine. "Oh, why…?"

I couldn't answer her, my throat having long since tightened to the point that it became difficult to breathe. I hadn't felt such feelings since the day that the other Guardians had openly rejected me a year and a half before. I couldn't even open my mouth to defend myself back then.

Why would I now?

I felt my body pitch forward tiredly, my face pressing into the feathers of her neck. My body was completely limp, relying solely on her arms which tightened around me in support. My skin was made of the coldest ice, warmth being almost completely unfamiliar to me.

So it was safe to say that Tooth's embrace was both a comfort and a curse.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice coming out hoarse and breathy. I burrowed further into her hug, feeling my eyes burning yet being unable to cry. "I'm so sorry… I relapsed, Tooth… I can't…"

"Shh," she whispered, hugging me just the slightest bit tighter. "I… I don't really understand much about… what you're going through but… Jack… I will _always_ be here for you. You are too special for me to lose you…"

I couldn't speak, couldn't do anything other than press myself even further into her embrace.

"I'm so sorry… that I couldn't do more for you, Jack…"


	10. A Throne of Blackness

**Daybreak: Hey guys so I've been advised to put a warning on these next few chapters. There are triggers here for possible depression sufferers who have cut/self-harmed! Please read at your own discretion. **

**Shadow P.O.V.**

"_Shadow, what have you done?"_

"_It depends on what you are referring to," I replied, leaning back into my throne of darkness. I knew the two of us were merely sharing a dream but it felt so real, our connection having long since bound us together. _

"_What have you done to me?" Jack asked, his tone neither accusatory nor angry. He merely looked dejected, as if something important had been taken from him by the person that he cared for._

_I guess in a way it had._

"_I don't know exactly," I replied quietly, letting my guard down now that all the other distractions of the world were gone. It was just Jack and myself; two halves of a broken whole. "But… I am so sorry."_

"_No, you're not," he whispered, his voice pained as he approached the throne. His eyes were rimmed red around the edges, allowing me to see that his own guard was down in our shared dream world. I'm sure he would have cried if he could but both of us knew that we were unable to anymore. "If you were then you'd fix this! I don't want to feel like this anymore! I thought I'd gotten over these feelings!"_

"_I'd thought that as well," I replied, slowly getting up from my throne as Jack fell to his knees. "I'd thought… that I could no longer feel pain. I had heightened myself above such mundane practises, just as you had found others to fill the loneliness of your heart." I kneeled down by his side, gently running a hand through his perfect white hair. "We were never supposed to meet…"_

"_We bring up the worst of each other…"_

"_Bring forth our oldest, most secluded memories," I finished, gently caressing his cheek. I forced him to face me, his blue eyes flashing between yellow and blue continuously. His dream self was a reflection of his heart, betraying the inner battle that he was facing._

_I wondered if my eyes flashed like that._

"_You're with Pitch now, aren't you?" Jack asked quietly, leaning into my touch._

"_Yes, just as you are with the Guardians," I replied, gently stroking my thumb across his cheek bone. "In this world, we are forbidden to be by each other's side. We must return to our own cohort."_

"_But… this isn't your world," he begged, taking the hand on his cheek and squeezing it tightly. "You could be someone else in this universe. You could see the better side of the Guardians. You could turn away from the darkness and-"_

"_And what, Jack?" I asked gently, smiling down at his attempts to try and bring me over to his side. I knew what he was going through; I forcibly had to restrain myself from trying to turn him into a creature of shadows. "What happens when I return to my own world? I have to face the reality of having killed my Guardians. That'd just hurt me even more."_

_His grip on me tightened, his eyes widening as he remembered once more that my existence in this world was only a temporary thing. He pulled away just as suddenly, stumbling to his feet and making to turn away. Something inside of me reacted in that moment and I found myself gripping his wrist tight enough to leave a mark, keeping him from breaking away from the dream. I stared straight into his blue eyes, swallowing heavily as I tugged him back towards the black throne in the background._

"_Jack…" I murmured, placing my hands on his shoulders and pushing him into the chair of purest shadows. He made to get back up in alarm but my pressure on his shoulders kept him there, his eyes wide in fear. "Jack… can you feel it? Can you feel how warm the darkness is?"_

"_Shadow, stop! Stop it! It's… I don't like it!"_

"_Jack, calm down," I murmured, placing my hand over his racing heart. _

_I smiled slightly, feeling the spread of shadows that curled from my fingers tips and clung to his darkening hoodie. I watched as his wide blue eyes flashed between their normal colour and my own amber orbs. I allowed my other hand to slip up the sleeve of his jacket, smoothing over his fingertips before curling around the cut that had appeared since the last time I had seen him. He hesitantly did the same, the burning of my own slash spiralling up my arm in pleasurable waves._

"_Can you feel it?" I whispered, bringing my face close to his ear as his eyes fluttered shut. "Can you feel the darkness? It's still in your heart, Jack. You can be warm. You don't have to be alone. I will always be with you, right here in your heart."_

_His eyes snapped open with a gasp and I felt my own heart flutter, seeing the pools of amber reflected back in my own. His hair was tinging grey and whatever colour that was left in his face began to fade and shadow. His grip on me tightened, almost desperate as if he were certain that he would fall without a stable hand._

"_Shh, I'm here," I whispered, watching as his breath hissed out from between his teeth. "You're okay, Jack. Everything will be wonderful. Just give yourself to the darkness already."_

"_No!" he suddenly roared, slapping my hands away and falling out of the throne. He scrambled away from me, his chest heaving as he pushed himself against the farthest wall possible from me. I let out a sigh as his eyes slowly faded back to blue and any traces of the darkness began to fade from him._

_Well, except for the burnt material over his heart._

"_I don't want to be dark! I don't! I can't!" he cried desperately, his body beginning to go translucent as his end of the dream broke apart. He lay in a curled ball on the floor, a frightened mess of confusion and insecurities._

_He would break apart eventually._

_He just didn't know it yet._

"_We'll be seeing each other soon, Jack…" I murmured, knowing that he was beyond hearing me now. I watched as the last of his dream self broke apart and disappeared from our brief connection, leaving that horrible loneliness to once again fill my heart. _

**Bunny P.O.V.**

A screech throughout the entire workshop had me sitting bolt upright in bed, my body already tearing itself out of bed and down the hallway before my mind could really catch up with it. I tore through the distance between my room and the source of the scream in less than 10 seconds, my paw slamming open a door that was filled with an eerie darkness. I saw a mound beneath the bed cover writhe and twist, completely entangled in his own sheets.

"Jack! What's wrong?!" I asked frantically, rushing to his side and grasping at the blankets. The screeching body beneath it began to struggle twice as much, his fearful cries almost tearing my heart in two. "Jack! Calm down! It's me! It's Bunny!"

The body suddenly stilled and something ominous began to crawl up my spine. I gently pushed the blankets away from a face, the only thing I was able to see was a pair of eyes looking back at me.

And they were yellow.

"_Dark…_"he whispered fearfully, those eyes widening even more as I pulled back slightly. The blanket fell a bit more away from his face and I released a breath, seeing that they were in fact the familiar blue of Jack's irises. "_It's so dark… Bunny… Help me!_"

"Hey, shh," I murmured, pushing the covers completely off of him. "It's okay, Frostbite. Did you have a bad dream or something?"

The young snow spirit remained silent, something very odd happening in that moment. Jack's bottom lip slowly began to tremble before his brow lowered and his face scrunched, his hands falling into his hands. He began to sob uncontrollably, his shoulders shaking violently. Alarm shot through me at this unusual display of vulnerability and fear and my pulse quickened, my hands darting out automatically to pull him to my chest. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, feeling him shaking and sobbing violently but never once feeling a tear escape his eyes.

"What the bloody hell happened, Jack?" I whispered, staring down in confusion at the spirit who I had been bickering with for centuries.

Never once had I seen him so breakable.

**Shadow P.O.V.**

My eyes glided open, a smirk instantly lining my face as I stared up towards the recesses of darkness and Night Mares that watched me from every nook and cranny in Pitch's Palace. I saw glowing eyes watching me, filling me with that reassuring warmth that I hadn't felt since being back in my own world. I slowly sat up, glancing over at the doorway where a tall man materialised within seconds.

"Is all going to your plan, Shadow?" Pitch inquired, that deliciously dark smirk lining his face.

"Not my plan," I murmured, laying a hand over my stomach as the darkness writhed just beneath the surface. "In fact, I honestly want nothing to do with anything that is going to cause Jack pain but my second nature seems to be taking control at the moment. In a way, I suppose it is your Parallel's plan."

"Neither I nor he could have come up with this," he murmured appreciatively. "This is purely based upon your attachment to the winter spirit. Why _are_ you so fond of him anyway? He is your direct opposite. By definition, you should hate him as the scum he truly is."

"Don't you dare call him that!" I hissed, anger bubbling away in the pit of my stomach at his insult. "You don't need to be able to understand it, Pitch! But _no-one _is allowed to harm him! Not while I'm here!"

"Whoa, don't get defensive!" Pitch chuckled, raising his hands in defence. "It was a simple question, nothing more. I was just curious, especially considering the fact that Jack's beautiful screams are echoing in my ears right now."

My head snapped around at that, my eyes narrowing as I suppressed a growl. "Screams?" I asked cautiously.

"You seem to have scared him more than you intended," Pitch commented, rubbing at his chin. "It is a lovely sound. Can you honestly tell me that you cannot hear it?"

I let out a shaky breath, realising the truth of his words. I shuddered as the sound echoed quietly throughout my mind, forcing me to climb off of the bed and stroll past Pitch towards the darkened hallway.

"Be ready," I murmured, somehow disheartened by the realisation that I had harmed Jack slightly. "We will be carrying out the next phase of the plan now."

**Daybreak: Hi **** So… if you want more you gotta review! Thanks to all of my awesome favers and followers!**


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